News release

Update on Wildfires, June 2 (evening)

Natural Resources and Renewables

Four wildfires were extinguished today, June 2. This brings the total number of active wildfires in the province to 11. Below are details on the five largest wildfires.

Barrington Lake, Shelburne County:

  • fire is still out of control, covering 23,015 hectares (230 square kilometres)
  • firefighters about 90 from Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR) and more than 40 volunteer/municipal
  • air resources include five helicopters, one water bomber from Newfoundland and Labrador, and heavy equipment

Lake Road, Municipality of the District of Shelburne:

  • fire is still out of control, estimated at 114 hectares
  • 15 DNRR firefighters

Evacuation information for the Shelburne fires is available at: https://www.facebook.com/shelburneemo

Pubnico, Yarmouth County:

  • fire is still out of control and covers 163 hectares
  • firefighters on scene include 20 from DNRR

Air and heavy equipment resources are being co-ordinated between the three wildfires in Shelburne and Yarmouth counties.

Westwood Hills, Tantallon:

  • fire is 50 per cent contained, but still out of control, at an estimated 950 hectares
  • firefighters on scene include 40 from DNRR, 100 from Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) and nine from Department of National Defence
  • air resources include five helicopters and one water bomber from Newfoundland and Labrador.

Containment efforts include a combination of fire-supressing methods including dozer breaks, natural breaks and nearby highways. The fire still poses a number of areas of concern, keeping the status out of control.

Hammonds Plains:

  • fire is holding at four hectares and is 100 per cent contained
  • 10 HRM volunteer firefighters are on scene.

Up-to-date information on HRM comfort centres, evacuation centres, response efforts and more, is available https://www.halifax.ca/ and by following @hfxgov on Twitter.

People are asked to please remain away from all wildfire areas.

Quick Facts:

  • the four wildfires extinguished today were in Annapolis, Cumberland, Halifax and Kings counties
  • there is a provincewide ban on open fires; the fine has been increased to $25,000 for breaking the burn ban
  • travel and activities in the woods are restricted
  • people should not operate drones over a forest fire; drones can interfere with the suppression effort and pose a danger to aircraft and first responders
  • people should only call 911 if their health or safety is threatened and they need immediate help; for non-emergencies in HRM related to the police, people can call 902-490-5016

Additional Resources:

Information on school closures and other updates related to the wildfires are available at: https://novascotia.ca/alerts/

Restrictions on being in the woods: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20230530003

Burn restrictions: https://novascotia.ca/burnsafe/

News Release - Increased Fine for Breaking Burn Ban: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20230531004

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